Abu Dhabi Lowers its Green Ambitions Further as Reality Humbles MultiBillion Dollar Zero Carbon Dreams

Abu Dhabi has got the largest sovereign wealth fund in the world with asset of over $600 Billion.The small emirate which is a part of the larger United Arab Emirates is one of the richest countries in the world due to massive Oil Reserves.The country had made ambitious Renewable Energy Plans setting up a Fund/Company dedicated to its Green Ambitions called Masdar.The Company has faced a number of reverses as it tried a number of things all at once in a new industry.Its “Jack of All Trades” Strategy has proven to be a failure as it lost/fired a number of top executives.Its Solar Plans have also come up a cropper as Thin Film Technology has faced a lot of reverses in recent times.The Company has tried to change tactics by concentrating now on Solar Thermal Technology partnering with Abengoa and Total in building a CSP plant near Abu Dhabi.With its Renewable Energy Arm facing a number of reverses,its plan for a futuristic,zero carbon Green Masdar City has also been scaled down.

The new Masdar City which was supposed to be totally powered from Green Energy Sources will now also use Fossil Fuel Sources.Reality has proved to be a harsh mistress for Abu Dhabi despite its awesomely deep pockets.The City which received its first residents recently has also delayed the completion of the construction plans .The $22 Billion Project which was supposed to have a radically new clean transportation system consisting of electric driven pods has also been shelved.Goes to show you that Green Technology can only be implemented in incremental steps instead of big bang futuristic plans where technology is still ill-developed.

Masdar Revises Zero-Carbon Plan, Delays Phase One – Bloomberg

Masdar, the Abu Dhabi government- backed renewable energy company, abandoned plans for Masdar City to be carbon-neutral from the start and delayed the city’s first phase by two years to 2015.The project will be completed between 2020 and 2025, the company said in an e-mailed statement today.

“While still aiming to eventually be powered 100 percent by renewable energy, Masdar City will no longer rely solely on on-site clean energy sources,” the company said. “The purchase of renewable energy from off-site locations may also be utilized as energy demands increase over the project’s lifetime.”